Syriza Wins......

[mushroom25]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30978052

what future for Greece - and the Euro?

or is all the doom-saying just anti EU rhetoric?

[mikey4444]

Mush.....Οι άνθρωποι μίλησαν !

[buildersmate]

The Greek people have been sold an impossible and unaffordable dream by a Socialist party led by a young man with powerful oratory skills but little else.

Then again, it happened here back in 1997.

[mikey4444]

You may be right buildersmate, and it happened again in 2001 and 2005 !

[buildersmate]

To think that, if it wasn't for Gordon, we could now be facing the situation of being asked by the Greek voters to fund (through taxes) their newly-proposed investment in replacement civil servants and a higher minimum Greek wage.

That lad had some value to us afterall.

[Gromit]

Buidersmate,
The Greek people had austerity impossed on them, and have enjured it for 5 years. But there is no evidence that it is working.
When Osborne did it here, we had 4 years of stagnant growth. It was only when he relaxed it that we have started to have an improvement in our economy.
Just because the Greeks have voted for an end to austerity does not mean the world will end. Done in a controlled and responsible way, their economy should improve, and their ability to pay their debts will.

[youngmafbog]

It really depends on what he manages to achieve. He will have to forma a coalition so that may dampen him (We all know what coalitions do).

The Greek economy is a total basket case, it should never have been allowed to join, couple that with corruption and the Bubbles being a bit on the lazy side was a recipe for disaster.

Will they leave the EURO? Well I doubt they will want it, so I guess it will be down to how long the Rainbows will put up with it and how much Merkel will push.

It will be interesting to see. Banks are now ready to take a country out so it won't be that much of a problem although would probably need to be done over a Bank holiday.

[youngmafbog]

The Greek economy and our Economy cannot be compared Gromit.

Plus after 4 years of 'austerity' which in the UK just meant 'belt tightening' the time was right to start off again. I don't think the Greeks are in that position yet.

[ToraToraTora]

Like most socialists the bubbles believe that wealth is created elsewhere and arrives magically in their pockets to spend. As TGL herself once said, the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money to spend. The greeks have a massive public sector with completely mental rules about things like pensions etc. Joining the EURO temporarily prevented the inevitable financial collapse. I predict this latest marraige of opposites they have in government will end up forcing them out of the Euro to exists as best they can as a third world basket case.

[Gromit]

Just checked the result. It is actually a coalition with a right wi g party.

[EDDIE51]

I think few Greeks are prepared to admit their economy would have actually gone bankrupt if they were not in the Euro.
In pre Euro Greece less than 40% of all tax theoretically due was actually collected. An entire nation of 'cash in hand' workers milking the system!

[Zacs-Master]

"Done in a controlled and responsible way, their economy should improve, and their ability to pay their debts will."

Would you care to explain the mechanics of this Gromit?

[Zacs-Master]

p.s. just bought a £1000 of euros. Would you sell?

[youngmafbog]

//what would happen if they went back to the drachma, would it be like their wallstreet crash //

Well actually probably not.

The problems with Greece (and some others) being tied to an economic strategy that is geared for the German powerhouse is that they cannot do the tings they need to do in order to get going again.

The Greeks will at some point have to come to terms with the fact that taxes need to be paid, you need to work until you are nearly 70 and you cannot have everything on the Nash.

[ToraToraTora]

a greek pundit described it this morning as the equivalent of Michael Foot getting into bed with Nigel Farage!

[mushroom25]

eeewww TTT, i'll have that image all day now......

:-(

[Gromit]

Austerity has not worked in Greece. Like it did here, it cripples the economy. A relaxing of the measures will improve things.

Greece wiil not be bankrupted. It will not crash out of the €uro. A compromise will be found. The 3 lenders will renegotiate.

// The euro recovered from an 11-year low against the US dollar as investors digested what Syriza's victory means for the Eurozone's future.

Europe's main share markets also rose - after initial falls - on hopes that a compromise over Greece's bailout terms might be found.

On Sunday, Mr Tsipras told jubilant supporters he wanted to write off half of Greece's debt, but was ready to negotiate "a viable solution" and wants the country to stay in the eurozone. //

[Zacs-Master]

YMB "The Greeks will at some point have to come to terms with the fact that taxes need to be paid, you need to work until you are nearly 70 and you cannot have everything on the Nash."
That's the truth of it. I think they've voted for 'head in the sand'.

[Zacs-Master]

I won't hol;d my breath for a 'viable solution'.

[youngmafbog]

//Austerity has not worked in Greece. Like it did here, it cripples the economy. A relaxing of the measures will improve things. //

You have no idea whether that statement is true or not, since the alternative cannot be put to the test in identical circumstances. It is pure conjecture.